Powell, Christine KINSTON - Pastor Christine Powell, 68, of 2232 Briarfield Road, died Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2008, at Lenoir Memorial Hospital. Funeral arrangements are incomplete at Loftin Funeral Home. Published in the Free Press from 8/16/2008 - 8/19/2008 Elderly woman pulled from home dies hours later Jon Dawson Staff Writer An elderly invalid pulled from a house fire on Briarfield Road late Wednesday night died within hours at the hospital. Christine Powell, 68, lived alone in the one-story home at 2223 Briarfield Road, according to neighbors and officials. She was found unconscious and unresponsive in her home Wednesday night after a neighbor spotted the flames and called 911. According to Woody Spencer of the Kinston Department of Public Safety and the State Bureau of Investigation, the fire was caused by a faulty electrical cord. “The victim was confined to a wheelchair and her furniture had been lowered so she could move from her wheelchair to the furniture,” Spencer said. “A love seat in her living room had been lowered to the point that it was sitting directly on top of an electrical cord and this caused the cord to fray and spark.” Spencer said the medical examiner has listed the cause of death as smoke inhalation. The fire was reported at approximately 9:46 p.m. Wednesday. About 25 members of Public Safety’s Fire and Rescue Division responded and, according to Chief Bill Johnson, saw heavy smoke and flames shooting out of the home. Firemen found Powell unconscious on the floor near her wheelchair. Emergency personnel immediately performed CPR on the elderly woman. Powell was taken by ambulance to Lenoir Memorial Hospital and later pronounced dead. Tanya Harper lives directly across the street from Powell’s house. “I could see the flames,” Harper said Wednesday night. “I ran across the street with four other people and talked to her through a back window.” Harper said she dialed 911. “It was one of the worse things I have ever seen,” Harper said. “She was an older woman and lived by herself.” Ashley Hinton, one of Powell’s neighbors, said that several people in the neighborhood tried to save the victim. “A few people kicked the door in, but as soon as they knocked it down the rush of air caused the flame to surge,” Hinton said. “There was just too much smoke and they couldn’t find her.” Another neighbor, Antonetta Fleming, said things quickly went from bad to worse at the home. “When the fire department got here the air conditioner exploded,” she said. Free Press staff writer Chris Lavender contributed to this report. Comments (0) woman killed in last night’s fire Vanessa Shortley | KFD, SBI | Thursday, August 14th, 2008 A press release from the Kinston Department of Public Safety: From the Kinston Department of Public Safety On Wednesday, August 13, 2008, at approximately 9:46 PM members of he Kinston Department of Public Safety Fire & Rescue Division responded to a structure fire at 2223 Briarfield Road in Kinston. Upon arrival, firefighters found heavy smoke and flames. Rescue crews entered the home and found 68 year old Christine Powell unconscious on the floor near her wheelchair. Crews immediately started CPR. She was transported to Lenoir Memorial Hospital. She was pronounced dead at Lenoir Memorial Hospital. The cause of the fire has yet to be determined. The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation is scheduled to arrive this morning to assist with the investigation. This is a horrible tragedy, and I send my respects to her family. There will be a more comprehensive update later. ========================================== ‘Thank God they were able to get her out’ By CHRIS LAVENDER Staff Writer A fire gutted a Kinston home Wednesday night, sending one woman to the hospital with injuries. Kinston Fire and Rescue responded at 9:52 p.m. to 2223 Briarfield Road for a reported structure fire. Emergency crews were also alerted that someone may have been inside the one-story home when the fire started. Bill Johnson, fire and rescue chief, said more than 25 firefighters arrived at the scene and saw heavy smoke and flames shooting out of the home. Rescue crews entered the home and located a woman in a wheelchair in a back room. She was unconscious as firefighters removed her from the home, Johnson said. Emergency officials immediately started performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation — more commonly known as CPR — on the woman and continued assisting her as she was taken to Lenoir Memorial Hospital. Officials did not release the woman’s name or condition before press time. According to Johnson, the woman who was injured in the fire was “wheelchair-bound.” Briarfield Road residents anxiously watched fire crews extinguish the fire. Tanya Harper lives directly across the street from where the fire started. She was able to speak to the woman injured by the fire when it first started. “I could see the flames,” Harper said. “I ran across the street with four other people and talked to her through a back window.” According to Harper, the woman injured by the blaze was disabled and could not escape the home in time. Harper said she dialed 911. “It was one of the worse things I have ever seen,” Harper said. “She was an older woman and lived by herself.” Another neighbor, Juliette Johnson, said she was standing on her front porch when she first smelled smoke. “I looked over at the house and could see the flames coming out the living room,” Johnson said. “Thank God they were able to get her out.” The cause of the fire was not yet determined Wednesday night. Firefighters spent the rest of the night checking the home for any hidden hot embers.
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